Tesla and Uber could end up partnering to bring the company’s new Cybercab Robotaxi to the ride-sharing platform, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview.
Tesla just unveiled its Robotaxi platform last week, including the design for the Cybercab, a two-seated self-driving vehicle that will be used for ride-hailing.
Although Tesla planned to roll out its own ride-hailing platform and has shown off a version of what could be its app, it already has a good relationship with Uber. Tesla recently integrated Uber into a few of its vehicles to make life easier for the drivers.
Khosrowshahi joined Financial Times for an interview, and spoke in detail about Uber’s relationship with Tesla, and said he hopes to partner with the company and the autonomous industry as a whole in the future.
Additionally, he said he’d “love to have [the Cybercab Robotaxi] on the platform.”
- In regards to competing with Elon Musk, Khosrowshahi said:
- “Obviously, competing with Elon Musk is no easy matter, and we take nothing for granted; we really want to partner with the autonomous industry.”
- About having the Tesla Cybercab on the Uber platform:
- “We’d love to have it on the platform, but if not, I don’t think this is going to be a winner-take-all marketplace. We believe in the spirit of partnership; we’ll see what Tesla does.”
Ride-sharing is not an easy business to crack. Tesla already has a known name and a robust and successful business model, but who is to say that it would translate to success in a completely new sector?
In August, Khosrowshahi said:
“It’s taken us 15 years. It’s taken us tens of billions of dollars of capital, and we can provide that instantly to a partner. Hopefully, Tesla will be one of those partners.”
Perhaps the two could come together, and Tesla could potentially leverage a partnership with Uber to get things off the ground running. Regardless, we should see the Robotaxi in the Uber platform, and Tesla could use its autonomous platform to help offer driverless rides on ridesharing platforms across the world.
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